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Morning Discussion
by Alice O'Connor, Jan 13, 2010 5:00am PSTA fine recent post on the ever-wonderful BLDGBLOG discusses freeform movement through internal urban spaces both in reality and the movie Die Hard. If you've ever loved--or loathed--crawling through vents, blasting through walls and seeking alternate routes, you might find the perspective interesting. Do be warned that it'll probably make you think about Deus Ex, which invariably leads to playing Deus Ex again.
While you're clicking, have a unfriendly link that apparently is infected something fierce? rummaged up by the wonderful riot rite right clit clip click too. Don't click too far, mind, or you'll stumble upon nudity and violence that, while not gratuitous, are possibly best kept out of your workplace.
Let's keep the chatter in here.
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I am in general enjoying my time testing Star Trek: Online. It reminds me of the fun I had during the World of Warcraft closed beta as a stable engine and functional UI make all the difference in testing.
Gameplay: This is the single greatest concern for me in any MMO and so far Star Trek's gameplay is interesting and involving. The gameplay is comprised of two completely separate segments, Ship Combat and Ground Combat. Certain abilities are shared between the two (like context-sensitive interactions made with a single 'interact' key), but the tactics and abilities diverge significantly. It is important to remember that since this is a Cryptic game, you will not pick up major new abilities often, but will instead gain steady progression with major abilities coming less frequently.
Ship Combat: The ship combat is the obvious star of Star Trek Online, and it is everything you could have wanted from next-gen Star Trek. The combat pacing is steady when soloing with a kill timer of about one kill every 45 seconds. The ships move like cruisers (not fighters) and positioning is key to efficient victory. As a simulator fan I must compliment the ship systems-management abilities as well. Even at this early stage there is a large amount of system management better players can participate in like shield direction, energy distribution and weapon utilization. Weapons have distinct firing arcs that you are expected to be aware of and use to your advantage. It is important to remember that as a Federation ship it works much better to face broad-side to your target (to get forward and aft weapons to fire) instead of the head-on tactics of the empire ships. You gain abilities at a slower pace (compared to post patch 2.4 WoW leveling), but each time you do it is a major adjustment to your tactics. Around Lieutenant level 4 quests new weapons start dropping regularly which can change your ship config and load-out and refresh the warfare for those with short attention spans.
Ground Combat: Ground combat is a Star Trek take on the traditional MMO model. There is a buff/debuff class, a healing class and a tank/DPS class (based upon equipment and skill choice). (Respectively they are Engineering, Science and Tactical officers). You will always fight with 5 crewmembers either being AI-driven or by teammates. The classes make a huge contribution to your fights, and going without a healer can add a significant bit of difficulty. The combat engine is a static, non-physics-based engine like WoW. Most damage is dealt via ranged weapons which are targeted to a single individual (static) and will ignore obstacles (non-physics). There are ranged AoE weapons (like grenades) and conal AoE (arc phasers). The combat is significantly quicker than ship battles and most engagements will end under half a minute.
Progression: Unlike most MMOs grinding kills serves little purpose as they provide no direct experience. Progression in ST: Online is based upon a steady stream of skill points or Bridge Officer skill points that you then distribute (in large chunks). A kill will net you a small number, to up a kill requires a large number (4 per kill vs 50 for a skill-up, for example) Destroying an enemy will grant a number of skill points or BO skill points that when added up will allow you to increase stat-based skills (increase damage, etc). The major talent/ability changes come with promotions from completing quests or can be purchased from vendors (in the case of giving your Bridge Officers new abilities or changing their current abilities).
Up next: Newb Hints and Suggestions!
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